LADO Referral and Threshold Protocol - PDF document

1 LADO Referral and Threshold Protocol
LADO Referral and Threshold Protocol Introduction All allegations made against professionals or volunteers who work with children should be taken seriously. Some allegations clearly need to be referred and allocated for an immediate police investigation as they involve an incident of harm to a child; many are less stra ightforward and will require a level of questioning and The criteria for a referral under the Rotherham Safeguarding Children’s Board Procedures of an Allegation against a Professional are: This procedure should be applied when there is an allegation that a person who works with children has: Behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child;  Possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child;  Behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates that they may pose a risk of harm to children;  Behave in way outside of work or employment which may cause risk of harm to those children with who they work or are in contact with. Here are some broad examples of situations which raise safeguarding concerns in which LADO procedure would be invoked:  Contravened or has continued to contravene any safe practice guidance given by his/her organisation or regulatory body;  Exploited or abused a position of power;  Failed to understand or recognise the need for clear persona l and professional boundaries in his/her work;  Behaved in a way in his/her personal life which could put children at risk of harm;  Become the subject of criminal proceedings rel ating to a child or adult which against adults;  Become subject to Section 47 Enquiries under child protection procedures. There may be up to 3 strands in considering a concern or an allegation:   Enquiries and assessment of by Children and Young People’s Social Care Services about whether a child or young person is in need of protection or is in need of services; LADO Referral and Threshold Protocol  Consideration by an employer of disciplinary or other action in respect of the individual . The definitions are broad and can allow for a wide variety of interpretation. Und erstandi

2 ng and appreciating how local thresholds
ng and appreciating how local thresholds are applied will help professionals decide what to do and will inform the action that they take. This is true both in referrals about children and in referrals about behaviour of concern by an adult who wor ks with children. Background In the mid to late 2000’s, following the introduction and development of the statutory role of the LADO, there was discussion and consultation about the threshold determining the appropriate level of intervention to behaviour s of concern reported within the children’s workforce. The threshold for referral had previously included ‘behaviour that would indicate unsuitability to work with children’. However this was amended in Working Together 2013, to ‘behaviour that would ind icate ….. a risk of harm if the person works closely or regularly with children’. An understanding of the change in threshold is important because of the statutory process is there to protect children from adults who pose a risk of harm, rather than to unnecessarily criminalise workers who may have made a professional misjudgement. Sometimes the ‘allegations’ can be downgraded to complaints and can be treated under the organisation’ s disciplin ary proceedings once more is known about the incident. Manag ers of agencies and settings – nursery managers, head teachers, designated child protection leads , volunteer managers, human resources managers, etc – must have the confidence to understand the difference between a cause for concern, a complaint, a conduct issue, or an allegation. Minor matters that do not appear in the first instance to meet the threshold for referral to the LADO can upon further investigation be discovered to be much more serious than first thought. The importance of an open mind and pr ofessional curiosity cannot be underestimated. Research has shown that the first stage in building a safe workforce is a robust safer recruitment practice and then, clearly understood safeguarding policies and procedures which are implemented and supporte d throughout the organisation. Within this framework staff should understand and accept that if allegations are made they will be thoroughly investigated howev

3 er they will also need to have confiden
er they will also need to have confidence that any investigation will be balanced and they will be appropriately informed of the outcome. Sometimes parents are dissatisfied with how the agency has dealt with their concern and will complain to police directly. There should be a clear route of access for police, to any previous information the LADO h as to assist in decision making. Risk aversion arises from a lack of confidence on the part of the manager, the fear of reprisal, or a lack of confidence with whether partner professions will support decisions. A robust understanding of thresholds and th e workflow for consultations LADO Referral and Threshold Protocol and referrals should build the confidence of managers in partner agencies in managing complaints and allegations about the children’s workforce. On occasion referrals will be made that are believed to be malicious. Such a ref erral could result in the creation of a record on the police/DRB check of a professional or volunteer which would impact upon their future employment prospects. There have been a number of judicial reviews and challenges regarding information on DBS check s that have been the result of allegations investigations. To develop a system where the threshold for referral, the decisions made, and the pathway of the investigation pr ocess are understandable by all should reduce the likelihood of such challenge. LADO Referral and Threshold Protocol LADO REFERRALS INDICATOR MATRIX Indicators Matrix LADO Tiers 1 - 4 Tier 1: Incident that does not need LADO input but may be a conduct issue Tier 2: Incident which might require logging with LADO but will be ‘No Further Action’ Tier 3: Incident which requires consideration of referral to other agency such as police or Ofsted Tier 4: Incident which requires immediate suspension/police referral/arrest/ immediate action to protect child Complaint made by parent or carer or comment made by child that does not seem to have any corroborating evidence. There is no injury seen, or witness accounts do not corroborate the allegation, the manager confident this does not meet the threshold for a referral but is intending to investig

4 ate further. In such cases the relev
ate further. In such cases the relevant manager may wish to have a consultation discussion with the LADO, and both can make a record of the discussion and agree it will be dealt w ith internally, in case further information comes to light to question why no formal LADO referral was made. Member of staff alleged to have acted or reacted in a way considered inappropriate but not harmful; parental or child complaint about such an inci dent, to outside agency e.g. Ofsted, who have referred to LADO for further enquiries; allegation made but manager believes at this point they can deal with this internally and are checking with LADO for information only. This category also includes volunt eers and professionals where there are domestic issues which require them to inform their line manager (for example a section 47 investigation at home) but the employer/manager is clear there are no risks presented by this person in their place of work. T hese are incidents where an escalation to a police referral would be considered a disproportionate response. These cases are likely to meet the threshold for a confidential record to be kept by the LADO with the knowledge of the person concerned. Allegat ion made which meets the threshold for referral to LADO and appears in the first instance to meet the threshold for referral to police. Such cases may not involve serious injury to a child but appear to be a breach of the position of trust the professional or volunteer was in. A significant proportion of these types of referral have no clear criminal outcome but for the purposes of transparency the allegations process must be followed. Some of these referrals do not appear to have a criminal e lement but the behaviour is such that a regulatory body such as Ofsted, or the National Council for Teaching and Leadership, should be informed. It is essential in these cases that there is a clear outcome and this is communicated to the professional/volu nteer. These referrals can result in a note on future DBS checks and could have an impact on the professionalCvolunteer’s future career. Allegation made with credible witness who supports this, where a child has been inju

5 red or harmed. Behaviour by the pr
red or harmed. Behaviour by the professional or volunteer which is deemed to be extremely concerning towards the children they are caring for and requires immediate suspension . Allegation by a member of the professionalCvolunteer’s family which is so serious it requires immediate consid eration by employer. LADO Referral and Threshold Protocol Physical Abuse Examples could be: child objecting to a sanction imposed in school, describing an event to a parent who then comes in to complain about how their child has been treated. Young person in children’s home involved in a confrontation and making accusations where there were several witnesses and there is a clear incident report that refutes the child’s account. An allegation that is made second or third hand and facts are not clear, or the professional alleged to have d one this was not there at the time; or there is confusion about the account. Examples could be: child accusing teacher of p ushing them, when it appears they were being guided away from a situation (covered by ‘Use of Reasonable Force’ DfE 2013) Nursery w orker seen by parent to be pulling a child away from a situation, parent considers this is done roughly but professional claims it was to remove child from a confrontation where they may have harmed another child. Professional or volunteer accused of domestic violence assault on own children but there have never been any concerns at work about him/her. Examples could be a credible disclosure by a chi ld or young person that uses the word ‘hit’ or ‘hurt’; yet there is no injury seen and no corroborating evidence of child’s account. Restraint that has caused an injury to the person being restrained. An incident witnessed where there is a physical exchange between staff and child or young person. It is unclear whether self - defence or retaliation was involved. The matter needs full investigation. Child has clearly been injured or could have been injured as a direct result of the actions of a professional or volunteer. Incident within the professionalCvolunteer’s home life that is of high risk and hi gh level of concern. Sexual Abu

6 se A school girl telling a frien
se A school girl telling a friend, who tells the teacher, that another teacher ‘makes her feel funny when he looks at her’ but no other concerns or complaints expressed. A professional or volunteer makes an inappropriate remark that appears on the surface to be naïve rather than potentially grooming, or acts in a way that could be deemed unprofessional. A very young child still requiring personal care/nappy changing indicates that a nursery worker touched h im /her in the genital area. A professional or volunteer has been sending inappropriate but not necessarily sexual texts to young people he/she works with. Professional or volunteer arranging to meet young person outside the work environment and asking them not to tell anyone; or making inappropriate contact through social media with sexual overtones. LADO Referral and Threshold Protocol Emotional Abuse/Neglect A child with a history of challenging behaviour, alleging s/he feels bullied by a well - respected member of staff. Concerns that family members of the professional or volunteer may be involved in criminal activity. Teacher under stress who is heard to shout inappropriately at the children one day towards the end of term. Childminder witnessed to ignore children crying and spe ak rudely to them, but further context not known. A foster carer where there have been several complaints about poor practice and standards of care; children in their care who are not clean or appropriately dressed, or seen to be treated in a way that ca uses concern to observing professionals. Maki ng racist or derogatory remarks to a child or young person in the presence of witnesses. Suggested Actions Managers to investigate further to satisfy themselves this matter does not meet the threshold for a referral outside the organisation, and identify any appropriate actions. Investigate further with a clear view that this could be escalated to a full LADO referral if more information comes to light. If no furthe r information is discovered, offer words of advice/training and make a record of this on the professional or volunteer’s personnel file. Full referral

7 to LADO and consideration of what acti
to LADO and consideration of what actions are required under the procedures. This may or may not include referral to police. Full referral to LADO and consideration what actions are required under the procedures. This will include referral to police. LADO Referral and Threshold Protocol MASH Managers pre - screening completed Actions to co mplete agreed with MASH Social Worker LADO Threshold Decision made by MASH Manager Completed in 24 hours (using LADO Referral Indicator Matrix) LADO threshold NOT met LADO threshold Met New Allegation Episode created in allegations space ( All allegations details to be added to this Episode) Adult contact sent to Safeguarding Service Manager to agree NFA Adult contact progressed to LADO tray for action by Safeguarding Service Manager and Duty LADO  Progresses to Intermediary Services on LCS  Agrees actions with LADO worker  Allocate on LCS Initial and Follow up allegation meetings  Initial meeting to be arranged within 5 days (if not to be held in this timescale, rational to be recorded on file)  LADO worker to send Calling Sheet to LADO business support who will arrange the meeting  Minutes completed by LADO business support and sent to LADO worker on LCS  LADO worker to authorise minutes and reallocate to LADO business support who will sent them to professionals Allegation Management outcome form to be completed once LADO is finalised  When minutes, case notes, and allegation management form is completed Safeguarding Service Manager to close  Safeguarding Service Manager to add management oversight and close LADO on LCS LADO Contact is received into MASH Adult contact created by MASH LADO worker in safeguarding unit picks up task following Safeguarding Service Manager decision LADO close LADO Referral Flowchart Children’s process to following working together process, section 47 consideration (Duty/Locality Teams )